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Ronald Takaki, in his book Hiroshima: Why America Dropped the Atomic Bomb
, recounts the events leading up to the use of atomic bombs against Japan in
hopes of stimulating a serious and
substantive debate concerning the reasons for this dramatic and horrific
military action. Takaki examines many different reasons for the United States
decision to drop the Atomic bomb on Japan in 1945. Ronald Takaki holds a
Ph.D in history from the University of California, Berkeley. He is also a
professor of Ethnic Studies at Berkeley. Takaki is also a seasoned author,
he has written Iron Cages, Strangers from a Different Shore, and A
Different Mirror. Throughout this book Takaki uses many primary sources
such as memoirs and direct quotes to back up his arguments. Takaki writes
this book with an Ethnic Studies bias.
Throughout the book, Takaki explores the different reasons that
the United States dropped the bomb on the Japanese. He discusses that the
United States needed to drop the bomb in order to quickly end the war in the
Pacific which would save many American lives. Lives would be saved because
this would call off the planned invasion of Japan. Takaki states that the
main reason for the dropping of the Atomic Bomb was to scare the Soviet
Union. The Soviets were succeeding in advancing throughout Europe and the
United States was scared of Soviet Union expansionism. Takaki also
discusses that a reason for dropping the bomb was a masculinity issue of
Harry Truman's. Takaki explores Truman's childhood in order to prove that
he was making up for a weak and "sissy" childhood. Takaki is determined
that racial prejudice and a masculinity issue was an influencing factor in
the decision to bomb Japan.
I felt that Takaki's book had many strengths. I feel that he
had lots of informative information concerning the Atomic Bomb. He supplied
many firsthand accounts of the massive destructive power of the bomb and its
implications on the Japanese. This information helps the reader fully
understand the great importance the bomb had on the history of mankind. He
also gave lots of good historical background information concerning the
decision to speed up research of the bomb and dropping of the bomb. Takaki
book is easily understood by the average reader.
I also found some weakness's in Takaki's book. I found that the
Takaki over emphasized the issue of masculinity and racism in the decision
to drop the bombs. I feel that it was unnecessary to dig into Truman's
childhood to find reasons for the bombings. I also felt that Takaki was
very bias when he discussed the morality of the bombings. He discusses the
immorality of the United States actions but he never discusses the war
crimes committed by the Japanese in the Pacific. I feel he should have
discussed the inhumane actions that were committed by the Japanese toward
the Chinese and Americans during the war.
Takaki's book offers valuable information concerning the Atomic
Bomb and its influence on the war in the Pacific. The primary sources
provide a great amount of insight on the decision to research and drop the
Atomic Bombs. This book would be a great source for any persons interested
in furthering their knowledge on the topic.
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